Life in the Academy: the DWMA is a gang?
by Tanima8
Summary: The DWMA is a street gang. Maka and her friends are sent on missions for gang boss Lord Death. They help each other overcome many obstacles in their daily lives and extraordinary circumstances Plot loosely based on manga. Action/Adventure. Perhaps slight romance in later chapters. Rated T for coarse language and violence. {Maka & Soul}{BlackStar & Tsubai}{Kid & Liz} Patty & Crona
1. Chapter 1

Hello, Tanima here. Hope you enjoy my AU as much as I do. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater or any of the characters. All rights to their respective owners.

* * *

The DWMA stood high on a hill over looking the town. The building was huge and imposing. There were two enormous skulls carved into the wall on either side of the main gate while massive spikes towered into the sky from atop the wall. By all rights is should have been creepy and down right scary to any passer-by, but the people of the town had grown accustomed to it and the members of the DWMA found it comforting.

The DWMA was a huge criminal organization and this was their head quarters. Surprisingly, crime and random violence had plummeted in the area. Although major players in the criminal scene, they didn't like harming innocent civilians and even tried to protect them when possible. Nobody knew what DWMA stood for exactly, though there were rumours. Death, Weapons & Mayhem Academy. Detestable Wrestling Madmen Academy. Delicious Waffle Makers Academy. Some were more likely than others, but there was only one thing that all the names had in common. The A stood for academy. So that is simply what the gang was referred to as.

The members of the Academy were an eclectic group of strange individuals. The bottom of the barrel that society had left behind. But they were a family whose bonds were stronger than societies standards.

The man in charge of the Academy was almost as mysterious as the gang itself. Not much was known about him, but his street name was Lord Death. The few average citizens who claimed to have seen him said he was a huge, imposing man clad all in black with a face that looked like a skull. Depending on the citizen telling the story, his face was either tattooed like a skull, or he was just wearing a mask. Either way, he commanded respect.

His right hand man had joined the gang when he was a teen and had risen through the ranks. His title as second in command was Death's Scythe, but his name was Spirit. He was often viewed as a fool, even childish, but if a situation arose, he handled it swiftly and deftly.

There were many children and teens who, through one way or another, had joined the Academy. Because the children could not afford to go to school, the Academy had decided to teach them itself. They taught them everything they would need to know about being on the streets and life in a gang. From pick-pocketing, to knife fights and hand-to-hand combat in addition to the more traditional book smarts.

There were two men who were responsible for the children's education. They were both powerful members in the hierarchy, but were semi-retired from the working the streets.

The 'teacher' that specialized in any type of combat was an ex-military veteran. He had ended up on the streets after his minimal pension couldn't cover his medical bills. He had lost the lower half of his left leg in a road-side bomb, and now had a high end prosthetic. He was a well built man who was covered head to foot in scars and tattoos. His guilt ridden conscience was eased with every child he helped prepare for the world.

The 'teacher' that specialized in academics used to be an actual professor at a university; but lost his job when it was discovered that he was a drug addict. Although he was clean now, he was still a bit strange and chain smoked like no other. He was a bit obsessed with dissecting things, but he was very knowledgeable and was fair with the kids. He stood quite tall with a shock of grey hair and hard, square eyes behind big round glasses. There was a large scar that marred his face, starting at he bridge of his nose and running across his left cheek to end under his ear.

* * *

There were two young teenagers in the yard in front of the imposing DWMA building. They couldn't have been more than 14. A girl with sandy blonde pigtails and army boots stood with a hand on her hip glaring at a boy with bright blue spiky hair. The boy, wearing a black tank top and baggy pants, stood atop a small wall. He stood triumphantly with both hands on his hips. "Why does such a great guy like me have to be paired with such a nobody like you? Can't they see what a star I am? I'm so great I don't even need a partner!" he practically bellowed to the empty courtyard. The girl picked up a stone laying by her feet and threw it at the obnoxious teens head. It flew straight and true but he easily dodged it at the last moment.

"We need partners because we are still in training." screamed the girl furiously. "It's not like I like this arrangement either, jack-ass. If there were anybody else I would pair up in a heart beat." The girl turned on a heel and almost marched straight into a quiet girl standing by the edge of the wall. The second girl was tall and slender with long dark hair that hung loose over one shoulder. She appeared to almost be hiding behind her arms which were placed in front of her, but the placement only accentuated her well endowed bosom.

"Oh, sorry" The tall girls voice was high and girlish, yet some how mature sounding.

The first girl just stood there slightly baffled before recovering and taking a step back.

"No, no that's my fault. Sorry for almost running you over. Can I hel-" She was interrupted by the boy jumping almost between them.

"I'm Black*Star! I bet you are impressed to meet such a star like me so suddenly."

"Black*Star! Watch it! Quit being such a prick." raged the sandy blond girl.

"Oh, and this is Maka." Black*Star waved his hand, indicating the furious girl.

"I'm Tsubaki. I was hoping that I could talk to someone about joining the Academy?" her soft voice was some-what apprehensive. Maka stepped forward with her hand out stretched. " It's a pleasure to meet you. I can introduce you to our leader, Lord Death" They shook hands and Maka lead the way into the building.

There were three more teens in the entrance hall. A tall, well dressed boy with dark hair with three white stripes, and two girls in red crop tops, jeans and blue and white cowboy hats stood together. The younger of the girls was wearing shorts, while the older had full length pants on. The boy was going on about something while the older girl inspected her nails and the younger played with a bug on the ground.

"Hey Kid, Liz and Patty. Kid, have you seen your dad around? Tsubaki here wants to join." Maka asked the dark haired boy. Kid could not answer though. He was staring at Tsubaki, his eye twitching in agitation. "No, no no! It's all wrong." Kid wailed. "Hair on her right shoulder but not on her left! It's disgusting. It's asymmetrical. It should be tied back into one pony tail at the dead centre."

"Oh boy," sighed Liz, the older sister, "here we go again."

Patty, crouched on the ground, just laughed and started clapping "Kid's going crazy." she sang to herself.

Maka and Black*Star, used to this kind of thing, were totally non-phased. Tsubaki however look truly terrified.

"Don't worry Tusbaki. It will be over before too long." assured Maka. "As soon as your hair is "good" he will leave you alone. Why do you think my hair is in twin tails? I grew up with this kid. He's really a good guy underneath all the crazy."

While Maka was talking, Kid had pulled out a comb and hair tie and was gently combing back Tsubaki's hair into a high pony tail making sure to capture each hair. He left a little around her face to frame her features.

When he was done he took a step back and inspected his work – his long slender fingers holding his chin. "Perfection." he said at last. " the beauty of symmetry."

Tsubaki looked quite relieved, the whole process a lot less painful than she imagined.

"So Kid," Maka started again, "Have you seen your dad around?" Kid's father was the leader of the gang, Lord Death himself.

"Yeah, there was another kid who came in earlier this afternoon. He should be in his office."

"Thanks."

Maka lead Black*Star and Tsubaki further into the large building. Black*Star and Maka had grown up here, so they were unimpressed with everything they passed, but Tsubaki was looking around with wonder and peeking though all the open doors they walked by. After a minute, they came to a large door with skulls on it; it was Lord Deaths office. Maka knocked and opened the door. She thought she could hear a faint sound from across the hall that piqued her interest – it sounded like music. She looked to Black*Star.

"Hey, you introduce her, I'll just be a minute."

"Yeah whatever Maka. Such a big guy like me doesn't even need you here, I'll take care of everything." he said as he passed her.

"Jerk" she mumbled under her breath.

She walked across the hall and into the lounge room that Lord Death used for entertaining large groups. The spacious room was empty except for some table and chairs thoughtfully scattered about. The music was definitely louder here. Someone was playing a piano- quite skilfully too. She crossed the room to a door that lead to a smaller, more private room. She slowly and carefully opened the door. Across the room, facing away from her, was a boy playing the grand piano. She studied him carefully. His long fingers gracefully swept across the keys as he played, his posture was not slouched, but also not quite upright. His snowy white hair was long and shaggy. He wore jeans and a two-tone baseball hoodie, a leather jacket sat on the bench beside him. He oozed "cool". She felt her heart ache – she needed him in her life. She didn't know what made her think that ludicrous thing – he was a guy! - but it felt like her soul was reaching out to him. Almost on cue, he stopped playing and turned to face her. His bright red eyes seemed to stare right through her. She crossed the room to stand in front of him, hand out-stretched.

"Hi. I'm Maka. Do you want to be my new partner?"

"Hi Maka." His voice was deep and husky for a young teen. He couldn't have been much older than herself. "I'm Soul. Don't you want to know something about me before asking that?" his head was cocked as if trying, unsuccessfully, to size her up.

"I already know everything I need to from hearing you play."

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Well, that is chapter 1. Hope you enjoyed it. I don't know when I'll be able to update, but please stick with it. I promise I will continue.  
If you do like it, please follow or review. Everything is welcome.  
Until next time~Tanima


	2. Chapter 2

Hello Everyone,  
Sorry it took so long to post, but here is the next chapter. It turned out to be a bit longer than I was anticipating. Thanks for your patience. ^.^ I hope you enjoy it.

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Maka and Soul entered Death's office and saw Black*Star and Tsubaki talking with him from across the vast empty room. The only things in the high ceilinged room were a full body mirror - which Maka knew was also a computer screen used for video calls - and a low, Japanese style, coffee table off to the side. The thing that often caught the attention of newcomers was the painting. The ceiling was painted a sky blue with clouds and at the horizon on the walls was an endless dessert with hundreds of grave crosses painted all around the room. It was an unusual space, and an even more unusual office.

"Oh, there you are Maka." Lord Death's voice was surprisingly light and musical. "I see you met Soul already." For being such a tall man, Death wasn't very intimidating. He wore black pants and a hoodie; his face was half covered by a comedic skull bandanna.

"Black*Star was just telling me that he thinks Tsubaki should be his new partner. I would tend to agree with him. Would you two be okay being partners?"

Soul and Maka just looked at each other then back Lord Death.

"Yes sir. We actually just discussed that." Maka said with a smile.

Black*Star had looked over by then. He stepped up to Soul and eyed him up. "Oh man. Why does Maka get such a cool guy as a partner. I want to switch." turning to Tsubaki, "No offence."

She just smiled and shook her head.

Maka stuck her tongue out at him.

"Okay kids, these will by your new partners. Well, get along now." Lord Death spoke as the door opened admitting some older members of the gang in – including Spirit. "You have much to learn about each other. And don't be late for classes tomorrow."

The group of teenagers turned to leave when Maka was almost tackled to the ground by the red-headed Death's Scythe.

"Maka!" he sang as he clung to his daughter, nuzzling her shoulder. "How is my darling little girl?"

"Maka..." the girl started "Chop!" she finished as she brought her hand down hard on the top of his head. There was no doubt he was seeing stars.

The combat teacher, Sid, was part of the group following Spirit into the room.

"Very good technique Maka. Maybe next time hold back a little though..."

Maka's displeased look could have wilted flowers, but did little to affect the war veteran. In fact, the only one actually affected was her father.

"Why Maka?" He blubbered. "Why does my little angel hate me?"

By this point, Soul and Tsubaki were standing to the side looking utterly confused and Maka had already stormed out.

"Come on you two. The great Black*Star will give you the grand tour. Be grateful that a god like me has the time to show you around!" the teen lead them after Maka who was fuming in the hallway.

"Calm down Maks. He really isn't worth that much energy."

 _For all the crap that he spews, Black*Star has some wise words sometimes._ Maka thought as she took her friends advice and took a deep breath. They didn't always get along, but they were childhood friends who depended on each other.

The four teens walked down the hall two by two, with their new partners.

"So, what was that all about?" Soul asked as he sauntered beside his new pig-tailed friend, hands in his pocket, jacket over the crook of his elbow.

Maka rubbed the back of her head self consciously. "Yeah, sorry you both had to see that. That guy just... " her voice trailed off as if she couldn't find the right words. Noticing that Soul still looked confused, she clarified. "He's my Papa. But we don't get along."

Soul stared at her in disbelief, _How could she be so ruthlessly to her own father?_ Not that he hadn't felt the same way about his parents, he supposed. _The guy was acting a bit over the top, seems like the exact opposite to this girl, could they really be related?_. Soul glanced to Black*Star, who was walking behind him, for confirmation. Black*Star just nodded, walking with his hands behind his head beside Tsubaki.

"They don't look or act like it, but he is her father. And, Maka is actually one of the top martial arts students. So don't mess her around, 'cause she can so some serious damage. She is also the top academic student." At Maka's quizzical glance he continued "Even a god like me shows credit where credit is due. But if you ask me, she goes a little over the top with studying." Maka shot Black*Star another glance that asked if that last part was really necessary.

"Hey, when you are such a star like me, you don't need too many book smarts."

Maka just snorted."Yeah right." Rather grudgingly she continued "But he is the top martial arts student. He is a natural and even I have a tough time against him. You are in good hands in that regard Tsubaki. And he has spirit, though I'm still not sure if that is a good thing or bad thing yet."

Black*Star reached forward and pulled one of her pig-tails. "Hey, watch it nerd."

They got to the end of the hall and were back at the entrance.

"Black*Star and I will show you around and get you set up for tomorrow. There are classes, so we will get you the necessary books. There are a combination of academic classes like reading, history and math, and more practical skills. Pick-pocketing, hand-to-hand combat and parcour are the main things right now." Maka informed the new-comers.

Tsubaki looked a little scared and eyed up the muscled, dexterous, best-in-the-class Black*Star - her new partner.

Seeing this, Maka eased her worries. "Don't worry, you won't be paired with Black*Star until you are at his level. You and Soul will be paired together in combat lessons for now most likely."

Tsubaki looked a little relieved as she took stock of Soul.

"Oh yeah? What makes you think that I can't take you?" asked Soul, looking slightly emasculated.

Black*Star stepped back to lean on a pillar and started laughing. "This'll be good." he said while pulling Tsubaki back to give them space.

"You think you can take me?" Maka asked sceptically. She moved into a combat position. Her feet spread wide, her arms up and close to her body. "Okay, give me your best shot."

Soul eyed her doubtfully. She was hardly dressed for battle in her plaid skirt and dress shirt.

"Are you sure you want to fight in that?" he asked bringing up his concerns about the skirt.

"Trust me bro, it's not a problem." shouted Black*Star from the side lines. "Besides, Maka's panties aren't anything interesting"

"It's not a problem." Maka replied to Soul. To Black*Star "Shut the fuck up pervert. I wear _shorts_ underneath!"

Maka's yelling had gained them the attention of the other teens who were still in the entrance. Kid, Liz, and Patty walked over to see what all the fuss was about.

"What's this?" asked Kid. "Did the new guy insult Maka?"

Liz chipped in too "You teach him a lesson Maka. Us Academy girls ain't to be messed with."

Maka looked at the the slightly older girl "While I appreciate the support, you can hardly say that. I mean, you only got here last week yourself..."

"Yeah, so you have to defend all of our honour, as the oldest girl member here." Liz retorted.

"I dunno, if I can do this. It's so uncool to hit a girl" mumbled the white haired boy.

"Then think of her a boy, I mean, she is as flat chested as one."

Soul thought that was taking it a bit too far - apparently so did Maka.

"That is fucking it Black*Star!" screeched the girl.

In the blink of an eye, Maka was now in front of Black*Star. Soul barely had time to wonder how she moved so fast as he watched the scene before him. Maka's long black coat billowed out behind her as she planted her combat boot and pivoted; slamming her first into the loud mouths face with the full weight of her body. The boy was thrown back into the pillar – his head whipped side-ways from the force. He wiped his lip with his thumb as he turned to look at her and just laughed.

Their attacks were a flurry of fists and feet. Soul had no idea what he was witnessing, but he was sure they were super human. After taking a foot to the stomach, Maka was thrown back but she managed to keep her feet and just slid backward before stopping and charging forward again.

All 7 teens were so wrapped up in the fighting that they didn't realize they had company until there was a soft cough behind them. Black*Star and Maka froze – he had her in a head-lock, and she was just about to punch him in the gut – and just stared at the person behind Soul. Slowly he turned around to see a tall thin black woman wrapped up in bandages.

"Now kids, what do you think you are doing? I would expect this from Black*Star, but Maka?" the kids were untangling from each other. Maka at least had the decency to look slightly ashamed.

"I'm disappointed Maka, you have always been a good girl. You both know the rules about fighting - not in common areas. The training grounds are there for a reason. And you should have a referee, not a crowd." The woman's words were soft, but still sent a chill up Souls spine. She was not someone he wanted to cross. The woman dismissed them with a look, waiting for them to leave her sight.

* * *

The teens scrambled out of the the entrance and down another corridor. Most of them were giddy at their encounter.

"Haha! The look on Nygus's face was priceless." laughed Black*Star.

"Oh man, I've never really been in trouble before. I hope she doesn't tell my papa." Maka sounded quite worried about being caught.

"I'm sure it will be fine." reassured Kid. "The girls and I should head back home now though. It getting to be dinner time and I need to make sure all the frames in my house are level."

"Okay Kid. Have a good night. See you later Liz and Patty." Maka bid the trio farewell.

"We should probably set you both up and head out ourselves." Maka said to Soul an Tsubaki.

They walked down the corridor until they came to a decently sized supply closet. It was filled with clothes of varying sizes and styles.

"This is where most of the clothes are kept. We can pretty much help ourselves to the things in here." the pig-tailed teen told her comrades. "There are some rules of course. Don't take more than you need. Return the things you out grow - that sort of thing. Don't worry about it too much for now though. You will come to understand everything as time goes on." The girl was walking through the isles picking out a couple plain shirts and pants for the girl and boy. "Basically we are a giant family. So let that thought guide your actions for the first little while. Now, these things should fit for now." She said as she placed the clothes in Soul and Tsubaki's arms. "There is a set of street-, gym- and night clothes for each of you. We will get the rest sorted out later."

She wrote some notes in a ledger by the door and then left down the hallway. The group followed her past a bunch of class rooms before she stopped in front of a door marked "SCHOOL SUPPLIES". She opened the door revealing another large supply closet, this time filled with – as the sign suggested – school supplies. Once again Maka set about the room picking up things she thought the new pair would need.

"All the class specific text books can be found in here" she said as she picked out a couple "but all other books are kept in the library. I will show you where that is another day." She finished picking out things they would need and put everything in a couple book bags which were conveniently placed by the door. Soul took a bag and rummaged through it, taking out a text and inspecting it. "Human Kinetics: the flow of the body." he read out somewhat mystified.

"That is an excellent read," replied Maka "It's about how the human body works and how to best utilize it when in motion. It's for our parcour education."

Tsubaki nodded her understanding as they walked out the door and back toward the entrance.

"Uhhhh", Soul sounded a bit embarrassed "What's parcour?"

"Oh sorry" replied Maka. "You must not be from around here. It's a pretty common term and activity in these parts."

"DUDE!"exclaimed Black*Star, "You're gonna love it! It's running from one place to another, but you get to jump off of roofs and shit!"

"While not incorrect, Black*Star, that's a bit of a simplistic explanation. It's about getting from one place to another using the fastest and most efficient manner possible. Sometimes utilising jumping, vaulting and rolling." explained Maka in more detail.

"And jumping off roofs!" exclaimed Black*Star once again.

Soul had a mischievous half-grin of his face "Cool."

Maka could only roll her eyes. "Boys."

"Let them have their fun Maka." Tsubaki said to the other girl softly as the boys chattered about how cool it was. "I think they are entitled to a little child-like excitement. It's a bonding thing for them." She cocked her head to the side and smiled down at the much shorter girl.

They passed many doors and other hallways until they came to the back of the building. Opening a door, Maka lead them into a grassy field. It was at the top of the hill and overlooked the city – all the small roofs sprawled below them in a cluttered mess. There were two large buildings near the back of the field which Maka lead them to. As they walked she explained.

"These are the girls and boys dormitories. Everyone is welcome to stay on site in the dormitories, but there are some who have houses in the town below. I am assuming you both will need to stay here?"

"Uhh, yeah. I left my family way behind. I was expecting to have to sleep on the streets for a while, so this is really cool." Soul replied happily.

"My family is actually from town, but I would appreciate a room here." Tsubaki smiled sweetly. Maka gave her an intrigued look, but didn't press her new friend for any details.

"Basic rules, no girls allowed in the boys dorm and no boys in the girls dorm. You will be roomed with others of a similar age. Black*Star will help Soul and I will help Tusbaki." Maka looked at her watch. 5:30. "Dinner is in the mess hall in an hour, I suggest getting there a few minutes early. Black*Star will show you where to go at the appropriate time, but I have to leave soon." At the quizzical looks she got, she further explained. "I live off site with my Papa. I have a bunch of homework to do and once a week we have dinner together. It just happens that today is that day. Now, let's get you set up."

* * *

Thanks for reading everyone. Hope you enjoyed it.  
I would like to give a special thanks to the following people for the favourites and follows:  
ATolley13, cherryblossom808, marie-marie1315, Kiahlucky1, Twistedmind64, and amy2may. it means so much that people enjoyed it enough to follow ^.^  
If you have any comments or reviews I would love to hear them. Also any tips on how to write Death the Kid. I feel like I'm not doing a great job on him...

Until next time!  
Tanima


	3. Chapter 3

_Hello everyone, thank you for waiting so patiently for this next chapter._

 _Disclaimer: I don't own soul eater or any characters, they all belong to Atsushi Okubo._

* * *

The teenagers sat in the lecture-hall style classroom; the early morning sun fell across the blackboard thorough the high windows at the back of the room. This morning's lessons were academia. Professor Stein sat at the front of the room in his rolling chair twisting a screw shaped earring around and around. There was a faint clicking sound with each turn.

"Good morning class." Stein greeted his barely awake students, a cigarette hanging between his lips. "We have another two new students to add to our ranks. I want you all to be nice to them and help them out especially in the first few weeks. Soul Evans and Tsubaki Nakatsukasa will you please stand."

Tsubaki stood and smiled at her surrounding peers, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Soul stood and went with a much cooler "Hey." accompanied with a casual wave.

Maka swore she saw a couple girls in the corner swoon when they saw him. She heard them whispering about who his partner could be.

"Maka, will you tell our newcomers about the initiation process at lunch?" Stein broke through her reverie.

"Of course professor." Maka replied at once.

"Of course you're a goody two shoes." Soul grumbled as he sat back down.

Maka decided to just let him off with a warning this time. "There is nothing wrong with wanting to do well and being polite." She hissed.

The morning went fairly smoothly after that with only an occasional whispered question from either Soul or Tsubaki. When the class broke for lunch it was Black*Star that led them to the cafeteria.

"Yahoo! Lunch. I'm starved. Man, Stein went on and on this morning, eh Soul? I mean, I am going to surpass god one day, why do I need to know all that crap?"

As they lined up for food Maka hear a dry voice behind them "As confident as ever I see."

Maka turned to see Death the Kid, Liz and Patty all standing there. Kid continued "Liz and Patty have their initiation in about a week and want to go over it one more time. Would you mind if they listened while you explain it to Soul and Tsubaki?"

"Of course not, please join us." Maka smiled at a nervous looking Liz - not that the older girl would ever admit it.

"It's not that scary of a process. Once you initially join the gang, there are about 3 weeks where you are a probationary member. Its not that you've done anything wrong, it's just to make sure that this life is compatible for you. People usually leave in the first two weeks if they can't hack it. There are no commitments in the first few weeks, so leaving is not a big deal. If you are unsure at the normal initiation time it can be put off a little while longer. It can be a pretty big decision." They had claimed a table and sat down while Maka explained. "The initiation ceremony itself isn't that big of a deal to be honest. There are a few older members of the academy present and your partner or close friends. You then swear your allegiance to Lord Death and the DWMA. There are some formalities exchanged and then comes probably the most difficult part. All full members of DWMA have a tattoo declaring our loyalty. It's a skull, same for everyone, but we each get to choose where it gets placed. That's pretty much it. Care to add anything?" She looked to Black*Star then Kid.

"That pretty much covers it."

"Names!" cried Black*Star. "You forgot possibly the coolest part!"

"Oh yeah. Names. When you join the Academy you leave your old life behind. If you wish, you can leave your name behind as well and claim a new one. Not many people do, but it is an option. My Papa took the name Spirit, I'm not sure if it's Steins given name, but his first name is Franken..."

"Cool," Soul looked really pleased. "I am gonna pick a good name. Gotta say," He turned to Black*Star "You came up with the coolest name."

"Hahah, Thanks Bro! Black is a pretty cool name isn't it! Hahaha!"

Soul looked slightly confused, so Maka filled in the missing details for him. "Black*Stars family name is actually Star. He just changed his first name, from Barack Star to Black*Star."

"With a Star in the middle!" interjected the over-excited blue haired teen as he took a pen from his pocket. With a flourish he autographed the closest thing to him – Tsubaki's forehead. The endlessly patient girl just giggled at his antics while Liz brought out her compact mirror.

"There really is a star in the middle of it." she said examining her new 'artwork'.

If looks could kill, Black*Star would have about a thousand daggers protruding from his body thrown from Maka's eyes. Afraid that she might skip the metaphor and go straight for the knives, Soul tried to get Maka's attention.

"So, you mentioned tattoos? Where do you guys have yours then?" he enquired.

Maka calmed down a bit and turned from Black*Star, patting just below her right shoulder. "Here. That way I can easily hide it or reveal it."

Black*Star lifted his shirt right up baring the skull tattoo on his right pectoral muscle. Exposing the entirety of his – surprisingly well defined – chest was not a good way to further calm Maka.

"Black*Star! We are in the cafeteria, put you shirt down this instant!" she screeched.

"What's the big deal, I was just showing the "declaration of my loyalty"." He made a face at his uptight friend.

Death the Kid interrupted them before things could escalate even more. "I have mine on my back, between my shoulders - just under the collar of a shirt. For the same reason as Maka, but it also keeps the balance of symmetry on my body."

Coming out of her little rage, Maka commented "It depends on your personality where you want to put it. I know it differs for a lot of people. Professor Sid has his in the middle of his forehead. He has that bandana covering it all the time, but that's where it is. My dads is on his left forearm. Mainly 'cause he like to show it off to all his 'lady friends'. And I know there is one guy in one of the older groups that his on the side of his neck. It all depends. Think about it before getting it done. You will have this thing for a long time."

"I'll briefly go over the different levels of members." Kid took over for Maka while she finished her lunch. "As Maka mentioned, there are probationary members and full members. The full members get divided into Student, Regular and Upper. Students need to complete 99 tasks for Lord Death to become a regular member. Upper members need to complete one special assignment and are then trained by Lord Death."

"That seems pretty straight forward. But isn't that a lot of tasks for students?" asked Tsubaki.

"And what is that 'special assignment' business?" added a sceptical Liz.

"It just ensures that students are fully trained before moving up."explained Maka. "Students like us have to work in partners for safety and always check in with the professors or Lord Death himself. Regular members can work alone if they wish, although a lot don't, and they can take more difficult jobs."

Suddenly interested in the conversation Black*Star interrupted Maka. "For the 'special assignment' nobody is supposed to know until it's asked of you, but there are enough rumours around that everyone knows. We have to kill someone." Liz, Patty, Tsubaki and Soul looked at Black*Star horrified. "Haha! The looks on your faces! Haha! Okay, it's not just anyone. It's someone from another gang that has crossed us. Our biggest rival is a gang called "The Coven." Their members - mainly women – are called "Witches". They are involved in a lot of shit, and always cross us. So it's not as big a deal that we need to off one of them. Most recently, we were infiltrated by the witch Medusa. She was undercover for a long time. She tried to do crazy experimental shit with Maka and a couple of the other students-" Black*Star stopped suddenly as a hand came solidly into contact with his skull. Maka was leaning across the table to reach the boy. Her eyes were a mix of seething rage and utter terror.

"Black*Star! You... why?..." Maka was at a loss for words. "I'm heading back." she added quickly, trying to contain her emotions and left before anyone could stop her.

"What just happened?" asked a very innocent Patty as she watched Maka run from the room.

Death the Kid glared at Black*Star, disapproval rolling off him in waves.

"Shit. I fucked up." Black*Star jumped up and ran after his friend. "Maaaks! Wait up!"

The remaining five teens, along with everyone else in the large room, stared after the pair.

Kid turned his golden eyes to Patty "Maka went through a traumatic experience recently and Black*Star brought it up in a not very nice manner." he explained, answering her question.

"Is she okay?" Soul asked Kid "Is there anything that I should know? I mean, she is my partner now..."

Kid intently appraised Soul before answering. "There is much that you should know about Maka. But it's her place to tell you, not mine. I will say she is tough as hell though. She will be fine. And if you end up hurting her, just know that she is very precious to both Black*Star and me." Golden eyes bored into red ones. Soul stared right back with equal intent. " A cool guy would never hurt a friend, especially his partner."

Neither of them looked away, knowing the first one to do so would lose. The tension grew.

"So, uh, we've been here for a while. When is lunch over?" Tsubaki broke the spell over the two and suddenly they were back to normal.

Kid looked over to a clock on the wall. "Yeah, we only have 10 minutes left. We should head back pretty soon."

* * *

Stein was just finishing his lecture. Black*Star was bouncing on the edge of his seat staring at the clock. Three minutes to one o'clock. "Nearly time for combat class." He whispered under his breath.

Soul looked to Maka for possibly the hundredth time in the hour they'd been back in class. She looked fine enough now; staring attentively at Stein and writing line after line of perfect little notes. He had caught the tail end of the conversation between Maka and Black*Star right before class. While it didn't seem like she had fully forgiven him, she had already moved past it. He figured the thing with the Witch must have been pretty serious for her to react like that. He hadn't known her for long, but she had always responded with anger and annoyance to Black*Stars previous comments.

"...Soul Evans, Black*Star and Tsubaki Nakatsukasa. Please stay behind. Thank you, that will be all for today" Soul snapped back after hearing Stein call out his name.

"Wait, what's going on?" Soul turned to Black*Star who was sitting to his right.

"Sid is out on a mission, so combat classes are cancelled for today. But for some reason the four of us" he indicated to Maka and Tsubaki " need to stay behind and talk to him."

"Oh. Well, that's a good start to a new life." Soul said sarcastically.

They made their way to the front of the class while the rest of the students left. Stein was twisting his screw earring again. Click click click click. The sounds really was quite creepy. It didn't help that Steins glasses seems to reflect light making him look a little crazy.

"I understand that you two are no longer partners." He looked to Maka and Black*Star. "And have been partnered with the two new members instead."

"Yes Professor, you understand correctly." Maka answered for all of them while the rest gazed at him mutely.

"That's right professor, I am finally able to show my true abilities now that I'm not being held back!" hollered Black*Star in his normal boisterous way.

Stein completely disregarded the boys comment while Maka gave him the stink eye, but held her tongue.

"Well, you are all still expected to be able to complete missions as soon as possible. The most important aspect to partnership is trust. You need to trust each other implicitly - you need to know that the other will have your back no matter what. In order to fast track this process somewhat, you are being given extra assignments. Today, we will be doing basic trust exercises." Stein rolled over to a desk in the front row. "Who wants to go first?"

Tsubaki meekly raised her hand. "I- I'll be first."

"Alright. You and Black*Star come over here." Stein pulled a chair around from the back of the desk while the teens walked over to him. "Tsubaki, stand on this chair and when Black*Star is ready, you will fall and he will catch you. Don't face each other, and remember to communicate."

Tsubaki stepped on to the chair and turned from her partner.

"Are you ready Black*Star?"

"You bet! I was born ready."

Tsubaki fell backwards into waiting arms and exhaled a breath of relief. She looked up into Black*Stars face as he looked down at hers. They couldn't help but smile at each other. Standing from the sidelines, Maka couldn't help but think they looked pretty cute in that moment. Next up was Black*Star. He clambered onto the chair and shot both arms into the sky.

"You ready Tsubaki?" he yelled at the back wall.

"You bet." was her reply, copying him from earlier, though a lot less exuberantly.

Even though Tsubaki didn't look very strong she caught the blue haired boy with ease. It seemed like such an easy exercise, but took a huge amount of trust for practical strangers like the pair.

"Good job you two. Okay, Maka and Soul, you're up next." Stein called them over. "Up you go Maka."

Maka stood on the chair facing away from her new partner. She took a deep breath trying to will herself to fall. _Come on Maka. It's not that difficult. Just fall backward. I'm sure he will catch you._ Unbid, her mind flashed back to all the times that no-one had been there to catch her. Most of the memories included her father in some fashion. _If you are let down by your own father, why would you trust this random guy who showed up out of nowhere yesterday!_ Screamed the more rational and defensive part of her mind. _Well, at least you won't be hurt too bad if he doesn't catch you. You've fallen further before. You probably won't even bruise_. The cynical voice in her head took over. She took another deep breath trying to clear the doubt. It wasn't about the fall, it was about trusting him to catch her. She could feel everyone staring at her; wondering why she wasn't doing it.

"Come on Maka, what's taking so long?" Black*Star egged her on. She supposed that he was trying to be helpful in his own way.

"Are you ready Soul?"

"Whenever you are Maka."

She leaned back past the point of recovery - and changed her mind. She brought her feet back to land on them, which she did. But she also managed to step – more like fell – on Soul's feet as well.

"OW! What the hell Maka!"

"I'm sorry. I wasn't ready."

"How can you not be ready? You just have to fall back, it is literally so easy. Tsubaki just did it."

"Well I'm sorry I'm not Tsubaki! If she's so special why don't you go partner with them. Trio's have been done before."

"Maybe I will!"

"FINE!"

"FINE!"

Things escalated so quickly that it left both their heads spinning for a moment. Maka pushed past Soul, grabbed her bag by the door and stormed out. Stein took the cigarette out of his mouth, looked to the ceiling and blew a huge puff of smoke into the air. "That could have gone better. She's definitely related to you Spirit." he mumbled under his breath. "The rest of you are dismissed." he spoke in the general direction of the remaining teens.

Soul followed Black*Star and Tsubaki out of the classroom. "What the hell is her deal? She lands on my feet then blows up at me?!"

"Heh, yeah.. Maka can be like that sometimes." For once Black*Star words were hushed. He rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed about his friends behaviour.

"I've been saddled with a crazy partner. Is there any way to switch? I mean, it's not like we're invested in it or anything yet."

Just then a figure ran across the hall in front of them. Pig-tails flew behind the figure before a door slammed shut behind her.

"Oh man." Soul actually felt kind of bad that she had heard that.

"She was probably waiting to apologize." Tsubaki's soft voice was not helping him feel better.

"Dude! That's uncalled for." Black*star was back to his normal volume, perhaps a bit louder in his agitated state. "I mean, sure, she has a temper, is stubborn as hell, and a book worm," he said counting off his fingers. "but she is an excellent partner. You got lucky getting her man. We've been friends practically our whole lives. Once, when we were little, I picked a fight with a group of older kids. Maka told me to walk away but I didn't. This was back before I was the Star I am today, so it was a really uneven fight. Maka never left my side. I'm ashamed to admit it, but she protected me after I fell and couldn't get up. We both got the stuffing knocked out of us, but she was arguable worse off. And she never ratted on me. I can't tell you why, but there are many good reasons she has a hard time trusting, but once she does, she will have your back no matter what."

"Oh man." Soul looked at the ground and kicked an imaginary rock. He could feel the partners' gaze on him. "I don't know whats going on with her, but I guess I should go apologize."

"That would be a good idea." Tsubaki said.

Black*Star nodded in agreement. "Mmm-hmmm."

Soul slouched over to the door through which Maka had fled. It revealed a large field enclosed by a low wall - the dormitory buildings were at the far end. He supposed she might have run along the wall and behind the huge buildings for some privacy and set out after her.

As he was rounding the large building, he found who he was looking for. Maka sat on the low wall facing away from him. The wall was at the edge of quite a steep hill with a different view of the city sprawled below them. He could see why she came here, it was peaceful and kind of reminded him of how small he was in the grand scheme of things. She sat with her feet over the edge and a book in her lap.

"Oh shit." The girl mumbled. She dabbed at the page with the cuff of her sleeve.

 _Wait, is she crying?! I can't approach her now, that would hurt her pride even more. What do I do?!_ He looked around and decided to carefully back up around the corner. He coughed exaggeratedly as he turned the corner for the second time. The girls head whipped around as she heard him approach, Soul could see the walls go up behind her eyes. She looked at him expectantly. After a beat she cleared her throat. "What?" He approached and stopped only a few feet from the wall.

"I uh, - I wanted to apologize for earlier. It was super not cool of me to react the way I did. It was just an accident after all." He stuffed his hands even further into his pockets, looking somewhere between her and his feet. Maka stood up and turned to face him; her face softened dramatically at his words.

"Yeah, I guess I took things a bit too far as well. I'm sorry that I over reacted. I still want to be your partner if you'll still have me?"

Soul looked up at her with a half grin. "Yeah, we're still partners. It'd be pretty uncool for me to ditch you over something so petty."

She looked at him with a genuine smile, even if it was small. _She can actually be pretty cute._ He thought.

The girl took a step forward to jump off the uneven wall. Her foot caught on a broken stone which rolled her ankle, making her lose balance. Her eyes widened in surprise and her arms reached out to empty air as she felt herself falling backward – toward the steep hill. On instinct, Soul jumped forward to grab her hand. He yanked her forward to keep her from falling off the wall. Unfortunately, he pulled too hard and she was now falling the other way. Maka's arms windmilled as she made her inevitable tumble forward. Seeing that she was not going to recover and instead going to land on her face, Soul wrapped his arms around his falling comrade. They both fell to the ground, but he was able to protect her by taking most of the force by hitting the ground first.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. Are you okay Soul?" she scrambled off of the snowy haired boy to kneel beside him, patting him down for injuries.

"Heh, so it wasn't that difficult after all."he said looking at the large blue sky above him.

Maka stopped patting him down, but kept her hands on his arm. She looked at him confused. "What? I don't understand."

"'The trust exercise. You falling and me catching you. Even if this time wasn't totally intentional." he turned his head to look at his partner; a genuine smile on his face.

She looked blankly at him for a moment longer before giggling and breaking into a smile herself. "I guess you're right. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be."

* * *

 _Thank you to everyone who is reading my story so far. I hope you have been enjoying it._

 _I feel like I may have made Maka a little over dramatic, but it seemed to flow nicely when writing it. So, I apologize if anyone felt that way while reading. I will try to make her more badass in future chapters. :)_

 _Please feel free to leave feedback, I'm always open suggestions and (helpful) criticism._

 _And a big thank you for the people who followed/favourited last chapter:_

 _Fluffyicesprite, Aurellia, Swoob and SilentSunrise._

 _~Tanima_


	4. Chapter 4

_Hello everyone,_

 _I sincerely apologize for making you wait so long. Life has been really busy. I hope you will continue to read and enjoy._

 _I don't own Soul Eater or any of the characters._

* * *

Soul darted though throngs of people in a bustling market square. He followed the tails of his partners' long black coat as she weaved through the masses. Maka occasionally slipped her hand into pockets as she passed, relieving some people of their money. Although Soul had been practising for the past three weeks since he joined the Academy, he was still not very good at it. Maka still far out striped him, but she literally grew up learning how to do this stuff. Maka stopped and nodded towards a well dressed fat man that reeked of money. He was smoking a cigar and using a cane to support his substantial weight as he strolled down the road.

"Go lift his wallet and bring it to me. He is the mark for this mission."

Soul swallowed. "Doesn't that mean that he has at least three guards?"

"His guards are just inside the shop at the moment. If you do it right, you should be gone before he even realizes anything is wrong." she smiled encouragingly at him.

The red eyed teen nodded, taking a deep breath before heading forward. He jogged toward the man from behind. Just a few steps from the man, Soul "accidentally" tripped and sent himself tumbling into him. His hand was out of the mans pocket before the man registered that he been bumped into. It was a pick-pocketing technique that was used mainly for beginners. The pressure of his fall covered the the feeling of his hand in the pocket. Soul apologized profusely, bowing as he stuck the wallet in his own pocket. The man was greatly upset and took at swing with his cane. Soul easily dodged it and ran away, in the opposite direction of Maka. Making sure nobody was watching him, he doubled back to meet up with the girl.

"Nicely done Soul. The guy still has no idea."

"What a bozo." Soul laughed. "So what do we have to do now? Take pictures of him?"

"Pretty much. This guy is involved with a smaller gang that sells drugs. He is pretty much their patron. We could get rid of the gang members themselves, but he would just recruit new, desperate kids. If we take him out, they cease to exist."

"So why do we have to take pictures of this creep? Why can't we just take him out and be done with it?"

"To every appearance he is above board. The police are a bit skeptical of him, but have no evidence to arrest him. And the public hold him in fairly good regard. We would only look bad if we killed him without a cause. So, we need to take incriminating pictures of him so the police will finally have proof."

"Oh, I see."

"Really Soul. You need to start paying more attention in the briefing meetings. Some of these jobs require preparation."she said somewhat exasperatedly.

"Yeah, Yeah."

Soul had been with the Academy for three weeks now. He had been on a handful of missions so far. All non-combat types, just really simple jobs like the current one. As much as he understood why they were given easy missions, he was itching to get his feet wet, so to speak. The types of missions that he heard Black*Star, Maka, and Kid reminiscing about. None of them were allowed to go on cool missions anymore because of their partners lack of experience. Liz and Patty were proving themselves to be rather brutal in their combat skills allowing the trio to take on more difficult operations. Living on the streets for years had honed their skills and made them down right scary when they wanted to be. He had once seen the sweet and innocent Patty put on the scariest face and whip Kid into shape during one of his neurotic episodes. It was quite frightening. He did not want to cross those two girls. His mind drifted to his other two friends Black*Star and Tsubaki. The blue haired teen was loud, obnoxious, more than a little self-centred, and had quickly become Soul's best friend. For as many flaws as the guy had, Black*Star was, undoubtedly, cool. He never pretended to be something he wasn't, he put his all into everything he did, and he never apologized for anything. Soul greatly admired those qualities in his friend and almost wished that he had more of them. The white haired teen wasn't especially close with his best friends partner, but he did like her. She seemed perfect for Black*Star. She was the mountain compared to his gale. The one who supported him no matter what. She didn't say a lot, but it seemed like her words were always perfect; they were exactly what was needed. He admired the girl too, she was so calm and mature. All seven teens had become friends over the short time they had know each other.

He snapped back to the present when Maka suddenly stopped in her tracks, making him run into the back of her. She glared at him and pressed her finger to her lips. They were at the entrance to an alley. She pointed to an escape ladder leading to the roof of the building to their right. As silently as they could, they ascended and lay on the edge of the building peering into the dark alley below. The cold hard gravel on the roof poked into Souls ribs. It was not a comfortable place to lay down; the smell of stale cigarettes permeated everything. After a few minutes, the leader of one of the smaller gangs slipped into the alley. Maka snapped a few pictures. The faint sound of the shutter broke the silence that enveloped the pair, but wasn't enough to gain the attention of the man below them.

Maka studied the man as he paced back and forth. He was quite young looking for a gang leader, maybe early-mid 20's. His face was hardened by years of living in hard situations, never really feeling safe. He had probably lived on the streets his whole life. His old and battered clothes hung loosely on his slender frame. The man paced the alley impatiently for a few more minutes before another figure appeared. The large man that Soul had run into earlier sauntered into the darkness. His cigar smoke gently curled above his head and dissipated. The younger man lurched toward the newcomer.

"What the fuck man! Where are the drugs you promised? You said that you would have them to us three days ago!"

The older man swung and squarely struck the younger guy with his cane sending him reeling backward.

"Don't take that tone with me, boy. Things have been difficult to transfer."

The young man was standing in front of the fat man again, this time a little less aggressively, but his hands were still trembling.

"Remember I said that I have to to this carefully because I can't be caught. Everything ceases if I am suspected." He finally noticed the younger mans trembling hands. "Besides, why are you so eager to get it. Only the addicts should be that antsy. Didn't I tell you not to get hooked?" he drawled and caught the poor street man with a stone-cold stare, as if daring him to lie.

"Uh.. Well.. I wanted to try it once to see what it was like..." he managed to stammer out.

The business man slowly brought his cane back up and rested on the others chest. To his credit, the gang leader didn't move a step. Suddenly, with vicious force, the businessman shoved, sending the leader to the ground in a graceless heap. His arms and legs spread wide trying to register what happened.

"Why do I keep you around if you can't even follow the simplest of orders?" He asked calmly as he slowly drew a gun from his clothes. He took a step forward and aimed the barrel right between the mans eyes. The younger man slowly shifted his focus from the barrel of the gun, inches from his face, to his bosses face. The look of terror on his face was heart wrenching, but the boss remained impassive, almost calm. Soul almost felt bad for the guy. It's not like the young man deserved it. His life had led him to this situation, but he surely couldn't be that bad of a person. Realistically, if Soul hadn't gone right to the DWMA, he could have been the one in that ally in a few years time. That thought chilled him to the core. He tried to shake it away and concentrated back on the scene.

"Follow my directions next time, or I won't be so nice." the gun was uncocked with a loud click and returned to its hiding spot, undetectable. From another pocket, he grabbed a large old-fashioned key and tossed it at the ground by the gang leaders feet. The leader scrambled to his hands and knees to pick it up.

"Tha-Thank you boss. I will do better next time." his voice trembled audibly.

"Hah!" it was a cold, humourless bark. "You disgust me. Get out of here." his voice dripped with venom, making the poor lad freeze in place staring blankly at the large man towering above him. The large man turned away and slowly walked toward the entrance and disappeared around the corner.

Turning back to the remaining man in the ally, they saw him slowly, shakily, bring himself to his feet and walk the other way out of the ally.

Soul turned to Maka, "We got what we needed right? The mission is now over?"

Maka had a perplexed look on her face, as if trying to work out a difficult math equation. "Well, we did what was asked of us, technically that's all we have been assigned to do. However, there really wasn't anything too illegal in any of the photographs. Mr. Thatch was more careful than we had anticipated. We would have to follow the gang leader to whatever he unlocks, and if that is the drugs, then there is an evidence trail that leads to Thatch."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Lets go after that guy to see what he unlocks."

"Well... we're not supposed to do anything after this. This is all we've been cleared to do. It might be very dangerous, we haven't scoped out the area or done any planning. It might even be an ambush for all we know." Maka turned to Soul, the dilemma still evident on her face. On one hand, they didn't collect any hard evidence and this whole operation was practically useless. But on the other hand, they really didn't know what waited for them if they followed that guy. As professor Stein always told them, it's best to have a plan and know the layout, not just rush in blindly. But surely sometimes it would be unavoidable, right?

She lay there looking at Soul for a little longer, watching his blank face stare back at her

while she mulled over the right decision to make. Finally he broke the silence.

"Well, let's go. What are you waiting for?" His red eyes searched her face for a good answer.

"Well..."

"Maka, this is what I was talking about when I said you need to be more flexible and more open to change. Not everything needs a plan and not every situation has time to make one."

She knew he was right of course. It was difficult for her to admit; she was good at plans. Less people got hurt if you had a good plan and stuck to it. She knew that well enough from watching Black*Star throw himself head first into trouble. But Soul was right. Sometimes there was just no time. She took a deep breath and nodded at her partner.

"You're right. The whole mission is a bust if we don't connect Thatch to the drugs. But be careful and follow my directions."

Souls face broke into a lopsided grin; his pointed teeth gleaming. "Alright."

They quickly descended the ladder and crept down the alley in the direction the gang leader had gone. It brought them to another back road. Maka peeked around the corner in both directions, but the leader was out of sight. There were a few other alleys leading off of this road and it would take too much time to check them all. She motioned for Soul to be silent and closed her eyes. She had always been a good listener. It hadn't always been useful in the past, but it was certainly was now. It was kind of hard for her to explain how she did it, but she listened in one direction, then in the other. To the left she heard faint foot-steps. They were the only sound she heard, so it had to be the gang leader. She pointed left, nodded at her partner, and quietly ran down the road. At the entrance to the second ally on the right of the road, the foot-steps got louder. She turned down and just saw a figure turn right at the other end. They caught up quickly after that. Their quarry was quickly walking, but in his drug with-drawled state, it was easy for the two young, fit teens to keep up with him. He wasn't even checking to see if he was being followed or not. Still, Maka knew this area of town well and played it safe. She led them down alternate alleys that met up with their target. They even had time for her to snap a few more pics along the way. After several minutes they came to the docks.

It was starting to become late afternoon and the sun was beginning to set. There was a thick mist that came off the water and enveloped the whole area. It shrouded everything and made it difficult to see. It also greatly muffled any sound. This was a double edged sword. On one hand, it made hiding easier and safer; but on the other hand, they would have to get much closer if they wanted to take clear pictures. Maka thought about the best plan while watching their target.

The thin man walked down a wide open area toward the side of a warehouse. He seemed headed toward some locked crates against the side of the building. Maka looked around and saw some large reels of fishing net at the end of the warehouse close to the crates. She lead Soul around the building behind the reels, avoiding the large open area where they were sure to be spotted.

She brought the camera out again and looked through. It was perfect. She snapped several pictures of the man walking up to the crates, kneeling to unlock them and taking out a package. She tried zooming in to make out the package, but it was no use. They were too far away and it was too misty.

With shaky hands, the man opened one of the packages, took out a pinch of the small, rock-like drug and placed it under his tongue. The teens could clearly see the relief flood through his body. His face went slack, his shoulders relaxed and his hands stopped shaking.

 _That's a very fast acting drug._ Thought Maka. _No sooner had it touched his tongue than it started having an effect. With such a small dose none-the-less. It must be incredibly powerful._

After a moment, the leader closed up the bag. He took a small sack out of his pocket and started removing more bags of drugs from the crate and putting them in the sack. A few moments later he locked the crate and was walking down the street. He looked like he could have been carrying groceries.

After waiting a moment to make sure he wasn't coming back, Soul and Maka came out from their hiding place. Maka motioned for Soul to pick the lock while she stood guard. There was a satisfying click just moments after Soul had knelt to examine the lock. Maka turned around impressed.

"You are getting really good at that." she whispered. "That isn't a standard lock either."

Soul had a smug look on his face and answered with "That's what cool guys do."

Maka refrained from rolling her eyes and opened the crate. There were still many bags of drugs. Maka took the final incriminating photos and closed the lid. Soul did the lock back up and the pair disappeared into the misty alley.

* * *

 _Thanks for reading. Please feel free to leave a review. Ill try to get the next chapter up soon._

 _-Tanima_


	5. Chapter 5

Soul and Maka reported back to the DWMA right after their mission. They had successfully taken incriminating photographs of a local businessman in connection with a gang that sold drugs. All that they needed to do was give Lord Death the camera and give a detailed report.

They entered the large building and found their way to the Lord Death's office.

His office still gave Soul the creeps, but Maka seemed at home standing on the dais facing their boss. Her hands were clasped behind her back as she recited the afternoons events. Soul slouched beside her with his hands in his pockets.

"Hmmm, sounds like that was quite the decision Maka." Death mused when the girl had stopped speaking. "It looks like your partnership with Soul is having a positive effect. You can leave the camera here with me. Thank you for your good work today you two."

The pair turned to leave when Death's musical voice called out once more.

"Oh, remember Soul, your initiation is this evening."

 _Like I could forget._ Thought Soul. He had be anticipating this evening for a week already.

"Thanks Lord Death. I won't forget." was what he chose to reply with instead.

The pair walked down the hall toward the cafeteria. The large room was quiet. A few table still had people, but the main rush was long ago. It was well past 7 and the kitchen was only serving food for the next 20 minutes. Maka and Soul grabbed trays and food and went to sit. They spotted Black*Star and Tsubaki amongst the stragglers and joined them. Black*Star was exuberantly going on about how he would one day surpass Lord Death with Tsubaki's help. Tsubaki was slowly mopping up the last of her soup with a piece of bread. She looked a little preoccupied and was only vaguely nodding at Black*Star as he was ranting.

"Are you even listening to me Tsubaki?" Black*Star hollered as they approached. "This is your God speaking. How are there bigger issues than how you are going to help me surpass God!?"

Tsubaki cocked her head to the side and smiled at her partner. "Sorry, I am a little nervous about tonight and the initiation. But we will definitely make you a big hero one day."

"Why be nervous?" the obnoxious teen stated matter-of-fact "With a big star like me there to support you, nothing can go wrong. Besides, I'll be giving you and Soul the spotlight, so you better feel lucky!"

Maka sat down with pointed look at Black*Star. "Well at least he got one thing right; we will definitely be there to support you Tsubaki." Maka smiled across the table at her quiet friend.

The smell of soup wafted up to Makas nose, making her realize how hungry she was. After a full day of following the two men, her stomach was growling as she took the first bite. They ate in relative silence; Soul slurping noisily at each spoonful and Maka a little more carefully.

Soon the time to head to the initiation was upon the four teens. They headed down the hall toward the chapel. Kid, Liz and Patty were waiting for them.

"You guys ready?" Liz asked.

"What's not to be ready for?" replied Soul. Although cool words there was none of the usual confidence behind them and his usually tan skin looked pale.

Tsubaki just stood there silently, looking as if this was her execution.

"Lighten up! Its really not that bad." Patty sung.

Soul took a deep breath and opened the huge doors in front of them. He held his head high as he marched in, Maka by his side. Black*Star took Tsubaki by the hand and walked in with her. Kid, Liz and Patty took the rear.

The huge room was styled like a gothic cathedral hall. Pillars rose to the curved ceiling on either side of the aisle. Stone rafters crisscrossed high above the group. At the far end of the room on a raised platform in front of rows of benches was Lord Death. He stood beside a podium talking with Spirit Albarn and Franken Stein. Sid and Nygus sat in the front row talking with each other.

Upon the teens entrance, the three adults quieted and stood in a row at the front of the platform. Lord Death motioned for Soul and Tsubaki to stand in front of him. Maka and the others took a seat on the first bench. The late evening sun streamed through the stained-glass window behind the group, bathing them in warm light of every colour. It was beautiful. Maka wished she still had the camera; she would just have to burn the image into her memory instead.

The ceremony was actually quite simple and straight forward. The pair were directed to kneel in front of their new leader and boss. They recited the oath of the DWMA, Lord Death touched their shoulders and heads with an ornate sword and asked them to rise. When they stood, he grabbed a rubber stamp and ink pad from the podium.

"Have you decided where you want you tattoos placed?" his whimsical voice rang through the large room.

Soul nodded patting over his heart.

"Good good. Lift your shirt then." Lord Death instructed as he inked the stamp. He placed it firmly where soul had directed; leaving a perfect imprint of a skull. "Follow Nygus to the infirmary and she will tattoo you for real. "

Tsubaki stepped forward " I'd like mine on my right shoulder blade sir." She was wearing her usual sleeveless dress, so moved the cloth away for the rubber stamp.

Well, you are now official members of the DWMA. Welcome to the family children. Do either of you wish to leave your old names behind and make new ones?"

Tsubaki shook her head. She liked her name.

"I would. I'd like to change my last name to 'Eater'." said Soul.

"Very well. I wash absolve you of the Evans name and name you Soul Eater of the DWMA."

"Thank you sir."

And that was it; the ceremony over. The teens followed Nygus down the corridors toward the infirmary. Kid and the Thomson's had left after the ceremony but had promised to meet them later at the Albarn residence.

The tattoos were painful but didn't take long. Soon all seven teens were sitting in Maka's living room with chips, rice balls, and drinks. Liz had convinced them all to steal some alcohol from Spirits liquor cabinet. Maka was quite concerned until she had finished her first drink; after that she didn't seem to care.

"Well, that really wasn't as bad as I thought it would have been." Tsubaki sighed in relief.

"Yeah. That was super casual. I got a new name out of the deal and everything." Soul agreed.

"Your name is SO COOL!" exclaimed Black*Star. "I mean, it's not as cool as my own, but I'll definitely let you be my right hand man with a name like Soul Eater."

They high-fived while Maka rolled her eyes. Curious, Maka turned to the sisters.

"Where did you two get your tattoos placed? I don't think I know."

Liz rolled up her left sleeve and Patty her right, revealing their wrists. "We got them here to symbolize each other. Growing up, we would often holds hands." Liz grabbed Patty's right hand to demonstrate, their tattoos lined up perfectly. Liz continued speaking "We chose there to remind us we always have each other and now we have a larger family as well."

"Oh." Maka said a little surprised. " Did you have a difficult childhood?"

"Yeah. You could say that." Liz ended the line of questioning.

Feeling awkward, Maka didn't know what to say. Thankfully Tsubaki saved her.

"Say, Maka, don't you live here with your dad?"

"Yeah...?" Maka answered wondering why her friend was asking.

"Well.. aren't you worried that he'll come back and catch us?"

"Hah!" Black*stars laugh was loud but without humour.

"Yeah, that not likely." Maka stated matter-of-factly. "Being a Friday night he probably wont be back until 1 at the earliest. He's probably schmoozing with 'Blair' at the gentleman's club and drinking waaay too much. Even if he did come home early, he'd probably be too blitzed to realize there's shenanigans about. Anyway, there's no need to worry." she finished with a smile to try and cover the disappointment at her abysmal father.

"I see..." Tsubaki trailed off, her turn to feel awkward.

"Yeah, I've known Spirit my whole life and he isn't what you would call a 'good father'. I mean, Sid isn't great, but at least he's logical and consistent." Black*Star added.

Kid slowly nodded in agreement and Maka downed the last of her drink. She got up to fill her cup again. As she made her way to the kitchen she heard Tsubaki ask.

"Hey, why don't we all play a game?"

"What were you thinking?" Kid enquired.

"Well, I was thinking that we don't really know that much about each other, so we could play a little game to find out more about each other. You know, if you guys wanted. It's just that when some things come up it really awkward, so if we knew about them, we could avoid feeling awkward..." she was still a bit shy when they were all together.

"Intriguing. How would we play?"asked Kid.

"Yeah, sounds like it could be fun. What are the rules?" Liz asked.

"Well, I was thinking we could all write down two truths about ourselves, mix them all up in a hat or something and try to guess who it belongs to."

"That sounds like fun." Maka exclaimed. "I'll grab some paper for us."

She ran into the other room and returned with a few pages of lined paper, obviously torn from a note book, and several pens. She rifled through a drawer until she found a pair of scissors and cut the pages into smaller slips. She circled the room handing out a couple slips and a pen to everyone before sitting back down in her arm chair.

She pondered for a few moments staring intently at the paper, tapping the pen against her lips. She didn't want to put anything too personal or deep, but also didn't want anyone guessing too easily. She looked up around the room and noticed everyone was in a similar situation.

"We don't want our own to be guessed, right?" she clarified.

"That's right."

She looked back down at her paper. _This is actually more difficult than I thought it would be. I don't want to be too obvious so that eliminates most of the things about me. Ugg, I'm so predictable. Oh! My favourite instrument is the piano. No one will guess that._ She wrote it down on one slip of paper and folded it in half. _Oh, I know what else. The most heart-breaking gift I've ever received is a pair of jade earrings. That should do it._ She folded the second note and placed in the box in the center of the coffee table. Everyone else finished up soon after.

"Who should pick and read them?" asked Tsubaki.

"I think you should. You did come up with the game and you have such a nice voice." smiled Liz.

"Okay. Here goes then." the dark haired teen swirled her hand around the box a little before pulling one out. "I inherited a large weapon collection from my family."

"Kid." Soul said instantly.

"Kid" Black*star agreed.

The others all nodded "Kid" was unanimous.

"Wrong." stated Kid. "I actually have very little in the way of weapons from my father. And certainly not what one could call a collection."

"That's actually me." Tsubaki piped up.

"What?! No way Baki! You never mentioned this to me?" cried an astounded Black*Star.

"It's not something I like to brag about. It's a family heirloom and should have gone to my older brother, but it was willed to me by our grandfather. It causes a lot of tension, so I don't like to talk about it."

"I see. But that is still so cool! Do you know how to use any of them?"

"Next one," Tsubaki clearly ignoring the loud teens question. "I ran away from home."

Everyone called "Soul" at the same time.

"Uggg, how come so quick guys?" Soul complained.

"You're like, 14, showed up out of the blue on a motorcycle one day, with only a couple of small bags and you don't think everyone knows immediately?" asked Liz sarcastically.

"Well, I guess when you put it that way..." grumbled Soul.

Tsubaki giggled "Okay, next. My favourite instrument is the piano. Hmmmm"

Soul glanced at Maka giving her a strange look. Everyone was eyeing up everyone else. It certainly caused confusion among the group. Maka, Tsubaki and Kid were the top candidates. They decided to call it a win for the writer though.

"It's me." admitted Maka to everyone's laugh or groan if they thought it was her.

The game went on for quite a while. More paper was cut up as more rounds were played. It was fun getting to know the companions they were with day after day. Some were more serious and some required a little bit of history to them. They shared the reading duty, but Tsubaki read most of them – it sounded less judge-y coming from her.

"I put a man in the hospital when I was 10."

"Oh shit. I don't want to cross you, whoever you are." exclaimed Maka. She had no idea, but knew it wasn't Black*star or Kid. She grew up with them. Tsubaki didn't seem the type and Patty was too innocent. That left Soul and Liz, but she suspected the latter. Her suspicions turned out to be correct.

"Really Liz? You have to explain now." instructed Kid. We are partners after all."

"Well, I found out what our foster-dad was really doing when he was playing "tea party" alone with Patty. I beat the ever loving shit out of him. Cops still think he fell down the stairs and bashed his head on the rail. Creep got what was coming to him though."

That sent a hush through the group. None of them were expecting something like that. They all looked toward the sweet innocent girl with sadness in their eyes. _If Liz was 10, Patty must have only been 7. Nobody should have to suffer through that let alone a child._

Patty looked at every one with wide, expectant eyes. "Next one!"

"Okay, but I think this will be the last one. It is getting late." Yawned Maka. She looked at the clock. It was already 12:30. Her father would probably be back soon.

"Okay the last one. I don't know how to ride a bike."

Another one where nobody could even guess. After a minute Patty confessed.

"It's me. We were bounced around foster homes and nobody took the time to teach me. Then we couldn't afford one when we were on our own, so I don't know how." she said with a smile.

Maka didn't know how such a lovely girl could smile at the statement.

"Well, if you'd like to learn, I can teach you." offered Soul. " I obviously know how to ride."

Patty giggled at that. "I would love to, thanks Soul!"

"No problem squirt." he replied as he mussed her hair a little.

"Okay gang. It's been a wonderful evening, but I think it's time for sleep now. My dad will be back soon. Probably." Maka told everyone. "Liz and Patty can share my bed. Tsubaki and I will share an air mattress in my room. I'll grab some blankets for you boys and you can have the sofa and chairs out here."

As she grabbed all the blankets for everyone, Black*star took the cushions from the back of the sofa and laid them out on he ground. He had slept over a few times growing up and knew the comfiest spot. Kid laid out on the couch while Soul curled in Maka's favourite arm chair. She tossed blankets at them before heading to bed herself.


	6. Chapter 6

_Hello everyone. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy._

 _I do not own soul eater or any of the characters._

* * *

Maka and Soul stood in the hallway looking at the mission board. It was the one year anniversary of their partnership.

"Maka, just choose one already." Soul groaned. "We've been standing here for like, 10 minutes."

"Yeah, and I want to make sure we pick a good one."

"Come on Maka. Can't I just pick it and be done with it?"

"No." she replied curtly "Remember what happened last time you picked?"

He did remember. It wasn't the coolest day of his life. He had chosen something cool sounding much to Maka's protests. They hadn't been prepared for it and had to run away; and in the process ruined a three week investigation.

She kept staring at him expecting an answer.

"Ugggg," he groaned at the ceiling. "I picked one that was too difficult and we blew an operation, and you were right."

The girl nodded and looked back at the board. "What about this one?"

"Too boring." he answered. Maka was the leader in their partnership but always got his approval before going ahead with anything. He had never told her, but was secretly very grateful. He had seen a few people get over run by strong-willed partners. _Speak of the devil_ he thought as he saw his best friend coming down the hallway. _I love the guy, but I have no idea how Tsubaki puts up with him._

He high-fived his friend as Black*Star and Tsubaki stopped in front of the mission board as well.

"Good morning" Maka greeted them. "How are you today?"

"I'm doing great!" yelled Black*Star way too enthusiastically for this early in the morning. "Today is the day we are going to complete out first real mission!"

"That's right Black*Star." Tsubaki said sweetly "I believe in you." she smiled at her boisterous partner.

Black*Star scanned the board for mere moments before snatching one off. "This one will certainly be big enough to show off my talents!"

Tsubaki took the page and looked it over herself. "Take down up-and-coming gang boss Al Capone. Defeat him and his close advisers - up to100 well trained men. Third Star Meisters suggested." she looked from the page to her partner "Black*Star, are you sure about this one?"

"Of course I am! It's perfect!" he yelled as he jumped down the hall toward the cafeteria for breakfast. "Yahooo!"

The meek girl smiled at them and took her leave after her partner.

"Oh boy. Taking on a three star Meister job and they have yet to complete a single combat mission as a team. Talk about enthusiastic." sighed Maka.

"Well, if anyone can do it, it's Black*Star and Tsubaki." said Soul rubbing the back of his head.

Meister was simply the name for any member of the DWMA. The star level indicated members rank and experience. The more stars, the better the meister; and there were only three ranks. They were all solidly in the one star category.

Soul sighed and returned his gaze to the board after the whirlwind encounter.

"What about this one?" he asked as he moved some pages to reveal one half hidden.

Maka took it down. "'Stop Jack the Ripper. Mad man attacking and murdering women out late at night in the lower east side. Please stop at any cost. Experienced one star Meisters suggested.' Yeah. I think this looks good. I'd say we're ready to take on one mad man." She nodded at her partner.

Soul nodded back at her. The hunt was on.

Soul and Maka sat in a run down little coffee shop in the bad part of town. They leaned over their cups of tea and discussed what they had learned about Jack the Ripper.

"Let's see," said Maka reading out of her notebook. "He is either a man or a demon. Slender or fat. And a doctor, butcher or something else entirely. Well, we have no reliable information on this guy at all. All we know is that he is strong and vicious." she finished, dropping the notebook on the table.

"We'll have to be careful I guess." Soul studied Maka as she flipped though some picture they had managed to steal from the coroners office. _It is laughably easy going anywhere if people think you are a couple teenagers writing a report for school_ he thought. He pondered something else as he took a sip of his tea.

"Hey, Maka. There's something I've been wanting to discuss with you." He really didn't know how to start taking about it, so he decided to just barrel through it.

"What is it Soul?"

"I think we should move in together." She gave him a quizzical look so he kept going. "As in, find our own place. You hate living with your dad and I'd like out of the dorms. You mentioned that sometimes partners are allowed to live together and are subsidized by the Academy."

"You're right. Some partners are allowed to live together. It's an interesting idea..." She trailed off as if unsure how to phrase something she clearly wanted to add.

"But, you're worried that things might get awkward. Or people might assume inappropriate things." he finished her thought for her. He had thought about them too. "Look, I think we'd make pretty good roommates and I just _really_ want my own place."

"We'd have to make an official appeal to Lord Death."

"I know. I asked Sid a couple questions while I was at Black*Star's last week."

"Alright. Let me think about it for a little bit."

"No problem."

They finished their drinks in silence; each wrapped in their own thoughts. The little shop closed as the sun went down and they were kicked out into the dusky streets. It was a bad part of town, garbage was strewn, street lamps flickered, and the occasional window was shattered. If they had been normal teens walking around at night, they would surely have been mugged or worse. As it was, they felt reasonably comfortable. They were well armed with their favoured weapons and lots of training to boot. Soul had trained hard over the last year to catch up with Maka. She still took the lead in missions and in fights, but he could at least keep up with her. Plus he had the advantage of being taller and stronger.

"It's still quite early for him to be out yet." mentioned Maka. "Where would you like to wait?"

"In bed." Maka just laughed at that. "But the park might be good for now. It at least has benches." Soul finished.

They sat huddled on a dimly lit bench watching their breath form clouds. Maka clapped her hands together trying to get some more blood circulation. In the distance, a church clock rang out; it was now 12:30. They both got up to start their directionless meandering in hopes of finding Jack the Ripper.

"Hey Soul?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think it would be awkward? Us living together?"

"Naw. I think we'll be fine."

A moment passed between the pair as they walked the shifty streets.

"Alright." decided Maka. "Let's move in together."

After an hour of walking, a blood-chilling scream pierced through the silence of the night. The pair froze and looked at each other, green eyes meeting red. They nodded and sprinted toward the sound. The teens barrelled around the corner to a small, dark alley just in time to see a shadow disappear around the corner at other end. Maka rushed over to the fallen form sprawled on the ground. She checked for a pulse knowing there wouldn't be one. The pool of blood was too big, the wounds visible through the clothes were too extensive. The girl had seen death before, but not like this. _Whoever Jack the ripper is, he is going to die_ she thought viciously. She rose, noticing there was now blood on her gloves and her boots. She looked to Soul, who looked visibly white and shaken. "Come on Soul. We can freak out later, right now we have to catch this sick fuck."

Soul took a breath and nodded, then followed after the shadow – Maka hot on his heels.

They rounded another corner, bringing them into a well lit main path. A row of closed shops spread to their left and right and a large set of stairs leading to a park rose in front of them. Half way up the stairs a bent figure hobbled up. Two sharp curved blades glinted from each hand, fresh blood still dripping from both.

"Serial killer Jack the Ripper!" Maka screamed out at the retreating figure. "Your murdering days are done. Your life is mine." the figure stopped and turned toward them.

Soul already had his daggers out. He had taken to them right away and become proficient with them. The long, sharp blades extended from his hands as if extensions of his arms. He darted up the stairs to engage. Jack, sensing danger, now rushed down at them.

Maka, needing a few moments to get her weapon assembled, got to work immediately. She grabbed the foot long tube attached to her side. Finding a latch at the bottom she opened it, pulled and twisted. Sections came sliding out until she had a 5 foot pole in her hands. She tucked the tab back into the bottom of the pole, securing it until she chose to collapse it again. Concentrating back on the original section, she unhooked a different latch and pulled gently. A wickedly sharp curved blade eased and clicked into place; she unfolded it again to double the length. The whole process took less then 30 seconds. Her weapon was now a total of 6 feet tall with a 3 foot blade. The scythe was a work of art.

Maka stood and charged into the fight swinging the scythe in a huge arc. Soul noticed the approaching blade and dodge rolled away. Jack managed to block her blade just in time. Maka never eased up or let the murderer attack, only block and dodge. She drove him back and if he tried to stray, Soul was right there to put him back in line. She had him lined up perfectly. She swung with all her might, aiming for his stomach. Unable to block this time, the blade made contact and easily sliced through layers of flesh. Blood sprayed over the street. He looked down in surprise, dropped his knives and unsuccessfully tried to hold himself closed. The body crumpled to the ground in the middle of a quickly growing pool of blood.

Maka reached into an inside pocket of her jacket and brought out a card. It had a skull and the word 'Judgement' on it. She threw it down on the body and collapsed her weapon.

The pair took the short cut through the park and managed to get almost to the other side before Maka had to stop. The adrenalin left her body and she was shaking so badly she had trouble standing; she leaned against a tree for support. Realizing his adrenalin no longer fuelled him, Soul dove behind a tree to throw up. He had never seen anything quite that horrifying. It was the first time he had seen Maka kill a person and he was so grateful that he didn't do it.

"Is that the first time you've killed someone?"

"Yeah."

"Oh."

They walked back to the Academy HQ in silence. The church clock stuck two on their journey. They reported to Lord Death. Concerned about the pair of 15 year olds, he ordered them to see Nygus in the morning; they had just murdered a man. With a weary nod, they both went to bed.

* * *

 _I hope you enjoyed the story thus far. Please look forward to more updates coming soon._

 _I would like to thank SierraJE, Shizuka Taiyou, BlackcatSkye, and Mudaship39 for following or favouriting last chapter. All your support means the world to me._

 _Until next time,_

 _~Tanima_


	7. Chapter 7

_Hi everyone,  
_

 _I'm so sorry for the long delay again. I'm dealing with a lot of paper work for a school trip and the forms and requirements are not stopping! Anyway, here i the next part. Sorry its a bit short. I hope to have the next part up soon._

* * *

Their meetings with Nygus the nurse went smoothly. When recounting the actual murder, Soul shuddered internally. He would be seeing "Jack's" guts spilling into the street for a while to come. Maka cried during hers, but only when she thought about the poor woman lying face down in the dirty alley way.

"Maka, how do you feel about the fact that you took Jack the Ripper's life?" Nygus asked gently.

"Well, he was a terrible person and a danger to civilians. I only did what was necessary. Lord Death decided that he should be removed from society, so I don't feel bad." Maka replied.

Nygus took some notes in her book and cleared them both for 'active duty' again.

The two teens walked down the hallway toward Lord Deaths office.

"I'm glad that we are both cleared to complete missions." said a relieved Maka. "I was worried that one of us wouldn't be psychologically well enough after a traumatic experience like that."

"It's cool Maka." replied Soul with a grin. "We are both excellent Meisters."

Maka just sighed in response. _Clearly he doesn't understand the gravity of the situation. Or he's just covering it up._ She looked at him really closely, but still couldn't tell which it was.

They stopped in front of the closed door to their boss's office. Maka stepped up and knocked.

"Come in!" their boss sang through he closed door.

Maka opened the door and peer around. "Lord Death, we were wondering if we could talk to you for a moment?" Then she noticed her father was also in the room. They were sitting at the only table drinking tea; both staring at her. "Oh, but if you're busy we can come back." she said trying to back out of the doorway.

"Nonsense. Come on in."

"Maka, my angel! Is there something Papa can help you with?!" Spirit had jumped up and was flailing his arms about.

Soul had basically pushed Maka up to the dias where the two men stood.

"What do you need, kiddos?" asked Lord Death.

"It's really okay, we can come back later." Maka almost pleaded. Of all the people that could have been there, why did it have to be her stupid father? He was just going to cause a scene and blubber like a child.

Lord Death," Soul said much more calmly than she felt. "We came here to request an apartment. Maka and I want to move in together."

"Soul Eater!" growled Spirit as a stalked closer to the white haired boy. "You even think of touching my Maka. If you ever lay a hand on her, as Death Scythe, no, as her father, I will fucking kill you. You got that?" He spat as he leaned over right in Soul's face.

"Do you see how cool I am? Do you really think I'm going to settle for a flat-chested girl like her?" Soul replied casually.

Maka was hurt and shocked. She knew they had no romantic feeling for each other, but that was taking things a bit too far. She would teach that 'cool guy' a couple things about manners later. No sooner had the words left Souls lips however, when Spirit was actually in Soul's face yelling at him. "WHAT DID YOU SAY?!ARE YOU TRYING TO TELL ME MY MAKA'S NOT ATTRACTIVE?! Why haven't you made a move on her, you're a man aren't you?!" by this point, Lord Death was holding on to Spirit's collar; he was leaning so far over that he would have fallen over.

"You know, you're a little annoying." Soul commented slightly turning away from the seething man.

Spirit now look dejected at Maka, tears streaming down his face. "Maka. Is it true? You really want to leave me? You want to leave you papa all alone?"

"Yes _Death Scythe_ , I want to move into an apartment with my partner." Maka was so fed up with the man.

In a fit of misery Spirit threw himself into a back corner of the room and mumbled between sobs. "My baby girl. Didn't even use my name! She called me Death Scythe. She's gonna leave me just her mama did!"

"Okay you three, simmer down." instructed the boss. "Let me think about it and I will get back to you." He nodded to Soul and Maka dismissing them from the room. "Spirit! Get a hold of yourself." the pair could hear him chide as they left the room.

"Cool. Looks like we're getting a new place." Said Soul once they left the room. "Your dad sure is a bit crazy though."

"Maka chop!" her hand suddenly made hard contact with tho top of Soul's head.

"What the FUCK Maka?!" he screamed clutching his head. "What was that for?"

"My Papa's not the only annoying one." she said glaring at him. "I know we aren't romantically inclined and you're far "too cool" to hang around with a "flat-chested girl" like me, but that doesn't mean you can say whatever the fuck you want."

"Calm down Maka. Your dad was going nuts, it didn't mean anything. I think you're just over reacting a bit."

"Fine. Whatever. You're a jerk Soul." Maka spat as she stormed off. "I'm going home. I'll see you in afternoon class."

"Shit."

* * *

 _I hope you enjoyed it._

 _And a special thank you to DancingOnTheWaves, Dogs of the Abyss and Accio-bravery for following and thanks to everyone who has kept up with Maka and Soul thus far._

 _~Tanima 3_


	8. Chapter 8

_I am so sorry that i haven't updated in a very very long time. T_T I haven't abandoned it, i just got pretty bad writers block and then a bunch of stuff came up in my personal life and school. I have a couple more chapters written and i will try hard to write a few more before the new school year starts. A huge thank you to anybody still willing to continue the story after all this time._

 _I don't own Soul Eater or any of the characters_

* * *

All one star meisters from Maka and Soul's class were gathered in the padded part of the gym. There was to be a special guest and everyone was waiting to hear who it was. There were many rumours going around. Some even thought it might be Death Scythe.

G _od I hope not._ Maka thought to herself. _He has never had the slightest interest in teaching before. But I'm in the class and I can never predict his next ridiculous stunt._

Sid entered the gym followed by three smaller figures. "Class, I'd like you to say hello to Death the Kid and his partners Liz and Patty Thompson. They are two star meisters and will be helping in today's class. Why don't we start things with a little sparring practice. Can I get a couple volunteers to go against Kid?"

Instantly Black*Star and Souls hands shot up.

"Okay. Why don't you two play rock, paper, scissor to determine which pair goes first?"

They both stood up and approached each other. "Professor," Black*star called, "We want to fight together. As a team."

Sid looked at them skeptically. "You want to leave your partners and fight together?"

"Yeah. I don't see what the problem is. I'm a lead and Soul is a support, so it should be fine." countered the blue haired teen. "Plus Soul and I are best friends, so we should be better together than with our regular partners!"

"Okay, get your practice weapons and get into the ring."

"Well, this should be... entertaining to say the least." drawled Kid, clearly patronizing them.

"Hey! We're not gonna go easy on you just cause we're friends!" jeered Soul.

"Yeah! Best not to underestimate us. I'm gonna be the guy that over takes God! You puny mortals don't stand a chance!"

"Okay, let's see what you've got. Liz, Patty." The trio moved into a formation they had practised a thousand time. Probably quite literally if Maka knew anything about Kid. They looked like a well oiled machine.

Soul and Black*Star on the other hand...

The pair moved into position. Black*Star in a head on attack stance while Soul sidled to the side.

"Fight!" Sid yelled, echoing across the large room.

Liz and Patty sprang to either side of kid, exactly 3 feet away, and locked on to their targets. All three teens drew their practice pistols and fired twice. Liz and Patty had one gun each while Kid had two, which he held upside down.

Black*Star and Soul managed to dodge the foam bullets by a fraction of an inch. Instantly on the defensive, they fought extra vigorously to take the lead. Which only lead to they being even more uncoordinated.

Maka glanced over at Tsubaki and sighed, disappointment evident in her eyes. "Can you believe these idiots?"

"Don't be too hard on them. They are trying their best." Tsubaki then winced as Black*Star swung his chained sickle and clipped Soul in the side of the head. "But they are pretty bad."

The fight was hilariously one-sided. The rest of the class occasionally had to muffle their giggles and groans.

In fact the only time that the duo had been able to land a single hit on Kid was by accident. Black*Star weaved his fingers together and crouched as if to hurl Soul in the air. Soul stepped into Black*Stars waiting hands to jump at Kid. That's about where the coordination fell apart. Black*Star, not expecting Soul's weight, lurched forward throwing Soul off balance. This lead Soul to windmill his arms frantically as gravity took over. With a double whammy, Soul smacked the top of Black*star's head with one dagger and let go of the other to break his fall. The other dagger flew through the air and managed to clip Kids jacket as the younger boys fell into a squabbling heap.

"What the shit Black*Star?! Why did you DROP me?"

"DROP YOU?! I do this move perfectly with Tsubaki! You're so heavy. Why did YOU hit ME?!"

Kid's mocking drawl somehow managed to reach them through the yelling. "Well isn't this charming. Are you two done with you lover's spat?"

Soul and Black*Star looked at each other. "I guess we can't be partners," Soul said his voice returning to it's normal cool state. "But can we still be best friends?"

"Of course!"

"Oh, Black*Star!"

"Oh, Soul!"

The two threw their arms around each other like lovers reuniting in a film.

"In position and ready." Liz's steely voice cut through the tender moment like a razor.

"In position and ready." Patty's voice slightly less steely but still sent shivers up the boys spines. They turned around to see the trio standing shoulder to shoulder, all 4 muzzles pointed their way. The next thing they knew they were being pelted with bullet after bullet as Kid and the girls unloaded their guns, reloaded and unloaded again at record speed.

The pair looked pretty pathetic curled on the ground clutching their chests. Although fake bullets, each one still left a nasty welt.

Kid put away his guns and dusted his hands. "Well, that was easy."

"Haha, yeah!" Patty giggled. "and they only managed to put a tiny tear in your jacket!"

Kid looked down and the miniscule damage on the right side of his jacket. The sound he let out was somewhere between a gasp and a shriek as he crumpled to the ground.

"HAHA! Kids' playing dead!" Patty poked the teens cheek. "Look Liz, he's playing dead!"

Liz just sighed and looked down disapprovingly. "What a pathetic guy." She walked over and shook his shoulder trying to bring him out of the shock.

Meanwhile, Soul and Black*Star struggled to their feet. Black*Star was sporting an already impressive black eye and Soul a profusely bleeding lip that was dripping off his chin and into his shirt.

"Hahaha! I guess this means we won!" shouted Black*Star with his normal bravado. "Cause we are still standing and Kid isn't!"

Sid shot them a bemused look. "Better count yourself lucky this time Black*Star. Now off to the infirmary with you too." Turning to Maka and Tsubaki he added "Would you two mind escorting them?"

Nygus tended to Blackstar's eye and other injuries. She had instructed Maka to wrap Soul's wrist with a bandage to reduce the swelling from his fall.

"So. Don't want to be partners anymore?" she gave an extra tug on the bandage, wrapping it really tight around Soul's arm.

"Ouch. Not so tight, Maka." Soul winced as she vented her anger. "Besides, it's not like that. We just wanted to see." he shrugged.

"Well, what I saw was a couple of idiots." she sighed and loosened the bandage slightly. "Do you still want to be partners?"

"Of course I do. You can't get rid of me that easily." he gently tugged on one of her ponytails. She batted his hand away but smiled all the same.

"Besides," Soul lowered his voice "I would go crazy if I had to be his partner. I don't know how you did if before Tsubaki and I showed up."

Maka giggled. "Yeah. There was a lot of fighting."

* * *

I _hope you enjoyed this chapter. Again, thank you to everyone still reading Maka and Soul's adventures._

 _Until next time,_  
 _~Tanima_


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